Baking Day! (March) Part Two: More cupcake madness!

My recent obsession with cupcakes is somewhat taking over my life. I have been ordering all sorts of cute and exciting sprinkles to decorate them with and thinking up all sorts of batter/icing flavour combinations. I have even been dreaming about making them! Sad, but true.

So, although N had asked for something else to be the centre of Baking Day (post on it's way...) I just knew I had to indulge the cupcake fixation.

I didn't want anything too rich, and after a week of glorious late-February sunshine I wanted something to reflect the refreshing taste of Spring we've been having. So I decided to make citrus cupcakes; one set of orange, one set of lemon. I used a recipe for lemon cupcakes, and before adding the lemon juice and zest split the batter so I was able to mix one half with lemon juice and zest and the other with orange. The only problem being that I needed to remember which was which!



Once the cakes had cooled I decided to try out different icing combinations too. So, I iced six lemon with lemon cream cheese icing, and six lemon with orange buttercream, and then had six orange with lemon cream cheese icing and six with orange buttercream meaning I had one of each type of cake with each type of icing.



Ah, cupcake obsession sated for one weekend at least!


Now for the recipe: It was taken from the Cupcake Bakeshop blog, which I can't recommend too highly. I then adapted it for the orange ones. I have no idea how they've turned out as we haven't actually gotten around to eating any, but the batters smelt lovely whilst cooking and rose really well.

Lemon Cupcakes
12 regular cupcakes / 180 degree oven

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
11⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1⁄2 cup milk
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
zest of one lemon

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
2. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. Measure out milk and vanilla.
5. Add flour mixture and milk alternatively, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

NB: At this point I split the batter and added half the amount of lemon needed to one and the equivalent of orange to the other.

6. Mix in lemon juice.
7. Fill the cups about 2/3 full and bake at 180 for 20 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean.